In the aforementioned copending application Ser. No. 08/041,566, there is described a marine display device which is filled with water and which comprises a magnetic toy fish freely suspended in the water and moves about therein, much in the same way a natural fish swims in an aquatic habitat. The swimming pattern of the magnetic toy fish described in said application is facilitated and controlled by one or more rotatable magnets conveniently disposed in the display device to interact with magnets in the toy fish thereby producing different magnetic fields with corresponding different swimming patterns of the toy fish in the liquid. The toy fish disclosed is said application is formed by adhesively bonding together two half shells molded of a suitable synthetic resin. The toy fish also comprises an air vessel such as a blow molded float which acts as an air bladder in order to impart buoyancy to the toy fish. Also disposed within the toy fish, below the air bladder is a magnet which, together with the air bladder, are so constructed and arranged as to provide proper balance between buoyancy of the air bladder and the weight of the magnet in the toy fish in order to insure that the fish remain freely suspended in the liquid at all times.
Magnetic toy fishes are not new and have been known for some time. One such toy fish, for example, has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,509,785. The fish described therein comprises a buoyant means placed above the horizontal axis of the fish body so that when the fish is placed in water, it can float upright. The fish body is stamped from a thin plastic sheet and a magnetic rivet member is affixed to the upper body of the fish so that the fish can be moved by magnetic means.
Another magnetic toy fish is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,956. This patent describes a marine display apparatus in which an animated toy fish containing a magnet is freely suspended in a liquid medium and is caused to move about in the liquid in an attempt to simulate the movements of a natural fish in an aquatic habitat. The fish 24 described in that patent is constructed of molded plastic material made in two sections such as the half-shells 24a and 24b which are secured together by water-resistant glue. The fish 24 is provided internally with a bulb 28 having a pocket 32 in which a magnet 34 is secured.
More recently, a magnetic toy fish of different construction was described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,876.
A major deficiency of the toy fish constructed by the prior art methods is that the half-shell sections which form the fish tend to separate and come apart due to the degradation or deterioration of the glue or adhesive used to bond the half-shell sections together. Thus, after its use in a marine display, the toy fish tends to come apart, and thus it can no longer be used as a toy fish.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a toy fish which exhibits structural integrity along its joints and which is capable of retaining its buoyancy and remain in free suspension in the liquid medium indefinitely.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a magnetic such toy fish which can retain its buoyancy and remain in free suspension in a liquid medium while it is magnetically actuated to simulate the swimming action of a natural fish in its liquid habitat.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a unique method of making a toy fish, including a magnetic toy fish.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a unique method of making a toy fish, including a magnetic toy fish by the application of sonar energy to weld and seal the half-shell sections used to form the fish.
It is still an object of this invention to provide a method of making a toy fish which does not require the use of glue or adhesive for bonding the half shells which form the fish body.
The foregoing and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and reference to the accompanying drawings.